Shadows of Time
by TheInnerBeast
Summary: Yajuu, an amnesiac treecko that is pretty sure he was once human, and Luna, an excitable eevee with big dreams. Join them through their journey as members of Wigglytuff's Guild, exploring through darkness, time, and even the sky itself.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay, so I was replaying an old game of mine, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky, when this idea popped into my head. Now, for anyone who has been reading the A/Ns of my other story know I have depression and I commonly lose the will to write, something I love to do, so when I suddenly have an inspiration, I must write as much as I can before I lose it. So here I am at 1:45 in the morning writing an action/adventure story with a romance between an Eevee(Luna) and a human-turned-Treecko(Yajuu)… So, this takes place right when the player character and main partner land in the Hot Spring after the first run of the Waterfall Cave dungeon. I** _ **might**_ **write the parts for the main storyline that came before this point later, but if I don't, then you should assume they happened nearly the same as they did in the game, with the only differences being when I write them in the story, like when Luna explains how she befriended Yajuu this chapter. Oh, and the dialogue isn't going to exactly be 1-to-1 to the game in this, so don't complain any of you nitpickers, you know who you are. Anyway, on with the show.**

* * *

 **Chapter One: Team Shadow's Introduction**

* * *

Within a small outcropping of rocks, a natural hot spring, unimaginatively called the Hot Spring, a group of pokémon were peacefully relaxing, letting all of their worries fade away as they soaked in the water.

"AAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHHH" Twin splashes of water shot up into the air for a split second before falling back down on whatever had just fell into the spring.

"Ugh, w-where are we?" an eevee groaned out as she unsteadily lifted herself up after suddenly falling into the pool of water.

"That was…an experience" a treecko huffed out, slightly out of breath from screaming his lungs out but a few seconds earlier.

"You two okay?" a vigaroth asked the two new pokémon who had, rather abruptly, joined him and his companions in the water.

"I-I think so" the eevee said, shaking her head to try and get her bearings. "Where are we, exactly" aske the eevee as she and the treecko looked around to see if they recognized wherever they landed.

"You are at the Hot Spring" a voice from behind the two said, prompting them to quickly turn around and see a torkoal standing on a just before the water. "This is a place where pokémon come to rest their tired and aching bones. May I ask who you are and how exactly you ended up here?"

"Oh, my name is Luna **(1)** , and this is my friend and partner, Yajuu **(2)** " the eevee said, pointing to herself and the treecko in turn. Yajuu nodded his head in greeting, looking a little uncomfortable with everyone looking towards him and Luna. "We are the explorer team, Team Shadow **(3)**. We were asked to investigate a potential secret at a waterfall. We found a cave with gems in it. However, when we tried taking the big gem, we ended up getting flooded out and launched out of a geyser to here."

"Hm, I see. It must have been quite an ordeal. Do you have a map, so I may show you where you are?" the kindly torkoal asked.

"Yeah, we have a Wonder Map that came with our explorer kit. Let me see here…" Luna started to mutter, digging through a bag she had over her shoulder, "ah, here we are. Here you go, and thank you for your help."

"It is no trouble at all." The torkoal smiled. He looked at the map for a few seconds before calling them both to come closer. "This is where you are right now," he said pointing to a place on the map.

"Wow, we got blasted far away from where we were." Luna said, looking amazed.

"Indeed, why not rest here a bit before going back to wherever it is you need to go?'

"That…sounds really nice right about now, actually. What do you think, Yajuu?"

"After what just happened, I could definitely use a break," he said, sounding mentally exhausted after that ordeal."

"It is settled, then. I do hope taking this moment to relax will help in whatever way it can."

"Yes, thank you/Thanks" the two members of Team Shadow said, quickly settling into the water, Luna sitting in near the middle, while Yajuu leaned on some of the rocks at the edge, further away from everyone.

"Hm, what is with your friend," an ursaring asked, "Why doesn't he come hang out with the rest of us?"

"He gets shy around people he doesn't know and is uncomfortable dealing with a group of people around five or more, even if he does know them. He just can't help it, he gets jittery and starts to fidget, trying to find a way to distract himself. He will talk if he finds a topic interesting or if he has to say something, but otherwise, he tends to be quiet and subdued." Luna responded, rubbing the back of her head with a strained smile. "I have tried to help him get used to being around people bit by bit, but we haven't had any results." She finished her explanation with in an exasperated tone, a defeated look on her face.

"Then how did you become friends with him, if you don't mind me asking?" one of the mankeys asked, looking between the two.

"Well, first you need to know that I wanted to be a member of Wigglytuff's Guild and be an explorer. However, when I stepped on the grating and the sentry called out my species, my nerves got the better of me and I ran away. I went to the beach, feeling sorry for myself, and wondering whether I was brave enough to ever go for my dreams. That was when I found him asleep on said beach. I ended up waking him up, wanting to know why he was doing sleeping on the beach, especially considering the violent storm he had the night before. He was a bit quiet, only saying what he felt needed to be said. However, some mean pokémon came and took my treasure," as she said this last part, she took a stone with mysterious carvings out of her bag, "and they ran away with it. When Yajuu noticed how upset I was getting, he said he would go get it back for me. Noticing how brave he was, I decided to go along with him, thinking maybe if I did this, I would be brave enough to finally try and become an explorer." Luna's eyes started to go a bit vacant, lost in the memories what happened two months ago **(4)**. "We eventually made our way to them and fought them for my treasure. Well, I say we, but he did most of the fighting, I was shaking too much during the first half of the fight to be of any use. I did manage to get my nerves together when I noticed how hard he fought just to help me, someone he never even met before that day, get a rock with some carvings on it. After we beat them and retrieved my treasure I asked if he wanted to join me and make an exploration team at the Guild. After thinking it over, he said yes and, well here we are. That day, seeing how far he went to help a total stranger, I realized that by acting the way I was, I was never going to achieve my dreams. That by being weak and scared, I would never be an explorer." Luna returned the stone to her bag and stared at the water a bit, a soft, forlorn look on her face. "After that day, I vowed to more courageous, to become who can stand on equal ground with Yajuu. Someone worthy to be called his friend and partner." At this, Luna looked up with a determined expression, a fire dancing in her eyes.

"Well lass," the other mankey started "you seem to be well on your way." Luna shook her head at that.

"Not really. Unlike Yajuu, I always freeze up for a bit whenever a scary part of a mission comes up. Yajuu, however, stands firm and tall, ready to face anything he comes across," Luna finished off, a melancholy sigh escaping her muzzle.

"Yet you went through with it in the end. From what you just said, you used to run away, too scared to reach for your goals. And your first fight led to you freezing up for most of it. But I bet you unfreeze before the fights truly start now, right?" At hesitant her nod, the mankey continued. "So you are already doing better than you were before. Regardless of if your friend gives you the courage or not, it is you who goes through with it. Pretty soon, you won't freeze up at all. You gotta have more faith in yourself." All the other pokémon in the hot spring gave out nods and words of agreement or encouragement. Luna slowly started to smile before a voice called out from behind her.

"They're right, you know." Yajuu said, his eyes closed and his head tilted up to face the sky, a tranquil look appearing on his face. "When it comes down to it, you always have my back, so don't worry about the little things so much." After saying that, Yajuu went quiet once more, content to ignore the world. Luna's eyes started to mist over as the smile on her face seemed to double in size and intensity.

"See, even your quiet friend felt the need to speak up about it. If he feels you're doing fine as his partner, then you got nothing to worry about. Just keep bettering yourself, and you'll do great." Spoke the torkoal.

"Right." Luna nodded, feeling more confident after Yajuu's kind words. The other pokémon cheered, happy that the young eevee had started to feel better about herself again. They quickly delved into other, happier topics. Unseen by the others, Yajuu opened his left eye, gazing at Luna, a miniscule smile dancing upon his lips.

* * *

"So that is your report?" A chatot stood in front of the only two members of Team Shadow. This was Chatot, the second-in-command of Wigglyyuff's Guild and right-hand man to said wigglytuff. "Amazing work!"

"Huh? But we didn't get the gem," Luna said, confused by the praise.

"Well, no. But you made a new discovery. And isn't that part of the reason we have exploration teams in the first place, to explore and discover?"

"Yeah! I didn't think of it like that."

' _That shadowed figure I saw in my vision. I only know one person with that body-shape.'_ Yajuu thought, remembering the visions he had at the Waterfall Cave. _'It matches perfectly with the Guildmaster, Wigglytuff'_

"Is something the matter, Yajuu" Chatot asked, noticing the treecko's pensive expression.

"I think… I think the Guildmaster has already been to the Waterfall Cave, and already knows the secret behind the large gem there."

"No, no. emphatically no! Why would Wigglytuff send you to investigate if he already knew?" Chatot cried out.

"I am absolutely positive he already knew about it." Yajuu insisted quietly, yet firmly.

"Hmm. Since you insist, I will go confirm it with the Guildmaster." Chatot turned around wondering softly under his breath, "Why would Yajuu want to spoil their own discovery. What a strange pokémon."

* * *

(A few minutes later)

* * *

"So…" Luna started once Chatot had returned.

"When I asked if he had been to the cave before, he mulled over it for a moment. Then he 'Oh, memories~! Sweet memories~! YOOM…TAH!' He then proceeded to dance around for a bit. Afterwards, he said 'Yes, yes! When I think hard, maybe I did go there once!'. That is what he said." The two rookie explorers had slightly incredulous expressions on their faces at the Guildmaster's antics. "So, to sum it up, you were right, Yajuu. He has indeed already been to Waterfall Cave."

"That's…kinda disappointing, to be honest." Luna said, a depressed look on her face. "I really thought we had discovered a new place. I wish Wigglytuff had just told us in the first place."

"The Guildmaster can be rather…eratic…at times. Even I do not fully comprehend his thought process. It is too bad for the two of you. Nevertheless, I shall expect your best effort once more tomorrow." Luna groaned at that.

"Come on Luna," Yajuu said, gripping her shoulder, "Let's head to our room." Luna walked forward after feeling Yajuu push a little, heading to their shared room.

"Are you not going to eat?" Chatot called out.

"I think we are going to eat in our room today, we have some food in our satchels. Have a nice night, Chatot." Yajuu said over his shoulder, looking to the colorful bird. The fox and gecko walked into their room, Yajuu lying down on his bed, while Luna went to look out the window. _'Today was exhausting'_ Yajuu thought, looking at Luna, not knowing how to cheer her up. _'Maybe I should just go to sleep early today'_.

"Haa, we went through a lot today…" Luna said, looking to Yajuu, before suddenly perking up. "But you know what? I had a lot of fun. Sure, learning Wigglytuff already learned about what we discovered was a huge letdown, but it was our first true exploration! I thought I was going to explode from excitement and anticipation the entire time! It made me realize that I made the right decision, creating an exploration team with you." Luna pulled the mysterious stone out of her satchel once more, "One day, I'm sure I'll solve the secret of my Relic Fragment. That is the dream I have. If it ever comes true, I'd definitely faint from the happiness and excitement!" Luna spoke with a grin. Yajuu walked over to her before wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"And I will by you every step of the way, partner." Yajuu said with a smirk, pulling her into a one-armed hug, drawing a small giggle from the excitable fox. Yajuu chuckled as well, happy to see his friend happy again.

"But seriously, thank you, Yajuu," she said, drawing a look of confusion form him. "I can explore because of you." Luna thought back to the waterfall, jumping through it with Yajuu. "I'm probably the biggest coward around, and even I managed to work up the courage. And it was all because of you, Yajuu. Because you stood by my side through every bit. Seriously, thank you, Yajuu." Yajuu looked away, red dusting his cheeks at the praise from his only friend that he can remember. "…Oh, I just thought of something!" Luna exclaimed, causing Yajuu to jump and flinch a bit from the sudden loud noise so close to his ear. "Sorry…" Luna giggles sheepishly, "But anyway, I was thinking… I noticed something about your dizzy spells, Yajuu. You always seem to touch something before they happen. _'Huh, she is right. When I heard Azurill's scream, I was touching an apple he dropped. When I saw Drowzee threaten Azurill, it was after he accidently bumped into me. I hit the waterfall and saw the Guildmaster jump into it. And when I tried to pull the gem out of the rock, I saw the Guildmaster press it before Luna did.'_ "And when during the incident with Azurill, you saw the future, but this time with the cave, you saw the past. _'She's right again'_ Yajuu thought, his face becoming more surprised at all the revelations Luna was pointing out to him. "In other words, if you touch something, you might see the past or future. You must have some kind of special ability! This could be something really awesome! This could be used in many ways, and not just exploring." _'True, but just because I have doesn't mean I know how to use it. And I don't exactly get a vision every time I touch something…'_

"Hey, you two." Chatot called, looking into their room. "The Guildmaster wants to see you." The two looked at each other before shrugging and getting up to head to Wigglytuff's office.

* * *

"Guildmaster, I have brought you Team Shadow…Guildmaster…Guildmaster?" Wigglytuff suddenly turned around, startling the other pokémon in the room.

"Hiya! Your team went through a lot today! Yes, a lot-lot! But don't worry! I'm keeping watch on your activities! I should tell you why I called you here. We're planning to mount a full expedition soon!" The Guildmaster said excitedly.

"An expedition?" Luna asked with a confused look on her face, one that was mirrored by Yajuu.

"Indeed!" Chatot started, prompting the canine and reptile to turn their attention to the bird. "The guild will go explore someplace far away! It is much harder than exploring our nearby area. That's why we need to prepare properly. We must carefully choose which guild members will go on the expedition.

"Really!?" Luna exclaimed.

"Usually, we would never, ever consider rookies to be expedition members." Wigglytuff explained, causing Team Shadow to return their attention the Guildmaster. "But you two are working very hard! That's why we're making a special exception this time! We decided to include you in the list of candidates for the expedition!"

"Really!?" Luna exclaimed once more, shaking in excitement.

"Now, now! You haven't been chosen as members yet. There is still time before we plan to set out on the expedition. If you fail to do good work, then you cannot expect to be selected for the expedition." Chatot warned the two.

"I'm sure you two can do it! Try hard!" Wigglytuff said.

"Y-yes!" Luna said before turning to Yajuu. "An expedition! Isn't this amazing, Yajuu? My heart is pounding all of a sudden! Let's do our best and make sure we get picked for the expedition!" She said loudly with and excited grin. Yajuu nodded with a confident smirk donning his face.

"Head back to your room now. You are going to want your rest for tomorrow." Chatot advised the two, to which they nodded before heading back to their room.

* * *

"We are going to have to work extra hard if we want to do this," Luna said from her bed. "From now on, we are going to go at it at two-hundred percent." Yajuu nodded his head, looking to his partner from his own bed.

"If we are going to do that, then we will need all the energy we can muster. Which means you need to calm down and sleep." Yajuu teased the excitable fox with a chuckle.

"I know, but I just can't. I am too excited to go to sleep so easily right now." She complained with a light coating of red on her cheeks, which she was thankful was hidden by her fur.

"Come here," Yajuu said, sitting upfrom his bed and scooting over slightly so there was enough room for two people, where he then started to pat the empty space next to him. Luna looked at him, confused, before standing up and walking over to him.

"W-w-what are you doing!?" Luna exclaimed embarrassedly, her cheeks burning, when Yajuu started to softly run his fingers through her fur, from her head, which leaned into his touch, down to her tail, which lifted instinctually at the admittedly pleasant feeling.

"Hmm, I don't know. Something just tells me this will help you relax. So, am I right, is it helping?" Yajuu asked, looking at her with a teasing grin. Luna wanted to tell him it wasn't solely to wipe that smug look off of his face, she wasn't the best liar and she didn't trust herself to sound believable enough to convince him otherwise at the moment.

"J-just shut up and keep doing that," she groaned out in a subdued tone, while digging her face into his side, trying to hide the blush that she _knew_ had to be showing through her fur at the moment. Yajuu's grin widened as he leaned back onto the bed, never once stopping his hand movements. This continued, even after Yajuu was sure she had fallen asleep. Yajuu yawned, his eyes starting to close involuntarily. Taking one last look at Luna, he felt sleep finally overcome him.

* * *

 **Character Profiles**

 **Yajuu: Yajuu is a young-adult treecko, but is pretty sure he was at one-point human. He has amnesia, being unable to remember anything from his past before Luna found him passed out on the beach, something that bothers him slightly, but he does little to show it. While he is a quiet, shy, and jittery person around strangers or groups of five or more, when he is around a small group of people he trusts, he is a lot more open, though he will still most likely be the one to speak the least, often only speaking when spoken to or if he feels there is something that must be said. The only person he would actively open discussion with without any prodding is his best(and at the time only) friend Luna. He tends to be rather passive when dealing with people he has a positive or neutral view of. He often has trouble dealing with emotions like sorrow or happiness, either his own or others. This has him come off as cold or indifferent, when he is merely trying to figure out what he should do, though he does seem to be able to cheer kids up whenever they get upset. He gets uncomfortable when people hug him, particularly when they wrap their arms or what-have-you around his arms, making it harder for him to move. When it is only him and Luna, he shows a more teasing side, often messing with her due to her excitable nature.**

 **Luna: Luna is a young-adult eevee that has dreams of being an explorer. She is a very excitable girl, constantly drawn by the ideas of making new discoveries. Her biggest dream is to find out the origin of a mysterious stone with markings on it, which she calls the Relic Fragment. However, she is also a bit cowardly, something she is trying to rectify. This cowardly behavior caused her to run away from Wigglytiff's Guild before she could even enter the front door. However, after running away, she went to the beach, where she met her future best friend, Yajuu. She seems to draw courage from being around Yajuu, seeing him be look at dangerous situations with a grim determination. Unlike her best friend, Luna is friendly with pretty much anyone she meets, provided they are a nice person, and isn't afraid to walk up and talk to them. Because of this, she would often act as the spokesperson for her team, despite considering Yajuu to be the leader. She would often look to him when she feels unsure or nervous about a situation.**

 **I will have more character profiles, albeit less detailed, when more pokémon join Team Shadow.**

* * *

 **(1): Luna was a name my sister came up for my partner pokémon in the game, because I plan to evolve her into an umbreon**

 **(2): The name means Beast, my usual got-to username for nearly anything.**

 **(3): Again, my sister came up with this, due to the fact that whenever I am home inside, it is spent in my room with the lights off and any light blocked out, shrouding it in shadows.**

 **(4): I know that the Waterfall Cave mission technically happens a few days after joining the Guild, but I am having the timeline be more spaced out, and will mostly fill in the spaces in between with character development or random mission.**

* * *

 **Okay, so there we have the first chapter to this. Just like with my other story, don't expect consistent updates for this. I will write when I have the will to, trying to force the story otherwise would lead to sub-par writing, something I as an aspiring author wish to avoid. Let the Beast, Be Unleashed.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Second chapter, and I already have trouble. Actions scenes aren't really my forte, and the dungeons are hard to write in a way that makes them interesting. We get our first member for Team Shadow that we get from the mystery dungeons this chapter. Once again, this pokémon was named by my sister, so it is not exactly a clever name. There are going to someone moments between Yajuu and Luna at a few points this chapter, hell, the first scene is one, but I don't plan for a romantic relationship to really begin between the two of them until after Yajuu's connection to Grovyle is revealed to him, however, it will be before the Primal Dialga timeline is erased. I also plan on doing all of the post-game content. I might do story after that, but by that point it will be interactions between characters, no more dungeons or anything.**

* * *

 **Team Skull and Waterfall Cave Missions**

* * *

"UP AN' AT 'EM! IT IS TIME TO GET UP" Loudred shouted, startling Luna and Yajuu into the waking world once more.

"Ugh, g-good mornin' Yajuu," Luna groaned out tiredly, shaking off the last vestiges of sleep. Yajuu only grunted before muttering darkly under his breath. "Still not a morning person I see?" Luna teased, earning a glare for her troubles.

"I'm a gecko, we are nocturnal by nature. I will never be a morning person…you gonna get off?"

"Huh? Get off what?" Luna asked while looking down, only a blush to bloom on her wide-eyed face, seeing as half of her body was on top of Yajuu's stomach. She scrambled to get off oh him, stuttering out apologies profusely. Yajuu started to chuckle at her actions, serving to quell a portion of her embarrassment, anger quickly taking its place. Luna was quick to shove, shouting a quick "YOU JERK!", which only fueled Yajuu's amusement. Luna turned in a huff, her head tilted up in annoyance. "You were the one who tried to get me to sleep next to you."

"You said it yourself, _next_ to me, you were the one who got on top of me last night." Luna's dying blush quickly flared to life once more. "But you don't see me complaining. Having a pretty little fox like you snuggling up to me sounds like a win on my book."

"P-p-pretty!?" Luna was pretty sure she was getting light-headed from all the blood rushing to her head at the moment. "Wait, LITTLE!?" she screamed, anger seeping into her voice once more. "I am not little, I am petite," she said with an upturn of her nose, a refined expression on her face…for all of five seconds before she broke down in a fit of giggles. Yajuu let out a few chuckles of his own before urging her on, so they could head to the assembly. She quickly grabbed her power band, which she tied around her neck with a little help from Yajuu, while he tied his silver ribbon around his upper-arm, giving it the appearance of an armband. They slipped their respective satchels around their necks before heading out their room to find everyone else had already gathered, leaving them as the last ones to arrive. The morning cheer was quickly said before Chatot said they had an announcement.

"Ahem, there is a lake that is far to the east. There are many mysterious aspects surrounding that lake, mysteries we hope to unravel. As such, our guild is planning to mount an expedition for the first time in a while~."

"An expedition, you say? Yes, please! Yes sirree!" Bidoof said, his eyes sparkling.

"It's been a long time since we went on an expedition!" squealed Sunflora.

"But… that means you're going to be picking members for the expedition from ALL of us, right?" asked Loudred.

"Precisely~!" Chatot said, excitement clear in his voice. "We will depart in several days. Over the next few days, we will choose the worthiest apprentices. The chosen members will form the expedition party. As such, everyone, you must work hard so that you may be chosen for the expedition!"

"Oh my gosh! This is so exciting!" Sunflora squealed once more.

"Yup yup! I've yet to go on an expedition. I would surely love to go this time!" Bidoof exclaimed.

"Let's work at it and get picked as members!" Loudred yelled.

"All right, everyone~. It's back to work as usual~."

"Hooray!" Everyone yelled as one. They all quickly left, getting to work with a new enthusiasm, hoping to get picked for the expedition. Yajuu and Luna climbed up the wooden ladder to get to the Job Bulletin and Outlaw Notice Boards, determination to get on that expedition party shining in their eyes.

"Okay Yajuu, let's try to do as many jobs as we possibly can. Then they'll have to pick us for the expedition! Let's go check now, Yajuu!" She said with a cheer, pumping her paw into the air. As they walked over to the Job Bulletin Board first, Luna noticed a pair of familiar pokémon in front of it. "Yajuu, wait…those pokémon." It was a zubat and a koffing, who noticed them staring.

"Hey" the zubat called, as the two flew over to Team Shadow.

"You two!?" the koffing said, looking nervous for some reason.

"Hm? That duo…wait, haven't we seen them before? I…I remember! They're the crooks who tried to run off with my Relic Fragment! What are they doing here!?" Luna shouted in shock.

"Whoa-ho-ho! I'll have you know that we are a legitimate exploration team too." The koffing laughed.

"Heh-heh-heh. What's so funny about an exploration team checking out the Job Bulletin Board?" the zubat said, a hint of a mocking tone in his voice.

"What!? You're an exploration team, as well!?" Luna shouted once more, unable to believe people who would actively steal from others were members of an exploration team, groups of people who would help stop thieves.

"That's right," the koffing said. "Though the way we operate isn't always…by the book." _'That's a shock,'_ Yajuu thought sarcastically, glaring at the two poison types. "But what a surprise! Why would you be here?" he asked, no longer attempting to hide the mocking tone.

"We wanted to become exploration team members, so we are training at this guild," Luna said, but there was a quiver to her voice. Yajuu looked to her out of the corner of his eyes. _'She is getting timid again. If she doesn't get over her fear of confrontation, they, and other pokémon, will be able walk all over her'_ he thought, a sliver of worry showing through his eyes.

"Whaaaat!?" the koffing called out, shock written all over his face.

"You want to become a real-deal exploration team member!?" the zubat was just as shocked as his teammate. They looked at each other for a second before quickly heading to either side of Luna, which only served to make her even more nervous. Before Yajuu could do anything, they started to pull her aside.

"You! Come with us for a second," the koffing said.

"Wh-what is it?" Luna asked, unable to keep the stammer out of her voice as she was pulled along by the less than noble poison type pokémon.

"Now," koffing started once they stopped pulling her, "don't take what I am about to say the wrong way. You should forget about being on an exploration team!"

"Wh-what? Why?" Luna asked as her voice seemed to get more nervous.

"Well, you're really timid. You scare easy. A scaredy-cat like you simple can't cut it on an exploration team." The zubat's words were harsh, as shown when Luna flinched from hearing them.

"B-but!" Luna started to back away from them, getting a bit closer to Yajuu. "It-it's true that I am timid…and I do get scared easily when it comes to fighting." Luna looked up with a determined expression on her face. "But that is why I'm in training! So I can overcome my own shortcomings! Even now, I'm working hard to be picked as a party candidate for the guild's expedition!" A look of surprise came to the flying pokémon in front of them.

"Oh? An expedition, you say?" The koffing looked to the fox, as a mocking face appeared on him and his teammate.

"Heh-heh. Well, effort only gets one so far. You won't get picked for the expedition party if you don't have talent, right? It all comes down to talent…pure and simple talent!" The bat mocked.

"B-big talk!" Anger flashed in Luna's eyes at those words. "You sure do talk a lot about talent, but what kind of skills do you have? You're so weak, you even lost to us!"

"Whoa-ho-ho! Well, we didn't have the Chief with us." The koffing explained.

"Ch-Chief?" Luna asked, confused as to who they were talking about.

"Heh-heh, That's right." The zubat laughed.

"Team Skull, our exploration team, has three members. Me, Koffing, him," Koffing leaned his head towards his teammate, "Zubat, and our Chief."

"Our Chief is incredibly talented." Zubat praised his team leader.

"To put it bluntly, he's brutally tough." Koffing added.

"Heh-heh. If the Chief were around, we'd snap you like a twig." Zubat mocked. It was at this moment Yajuu finally spoke up.

"You know, I am hearing a lot of things about how great your Chief is," he started, eyes closed, before suddenly opening them to glare at the two members of Team Skull, a smirk playing on his lips. "But, no matter how strong your Chief is, it doesn't change the fact that _you two_ lost to us. You are saying that talent is what is important, so how great is your talent, if you lost to a couple of rookies who weren't even part of an exploration team yet?" The two flying pokémon weren't expecting such a turnabout, judging by the surprised looks on their faces. They started to scowl at the gecko, before they paused and smirks appeared on their faces once more.

"Whoa-ho-ho! Speaking of the Chief, I can smell him coming right now!" Koffing said, dark look of glee spreading on his face.

"Smell?" Luna wondered aloud, trying to figure out what they meant.

"Here's the Chief!" Zubat called out as he and Koffing looked to the ladder. A quadrupedal creature with purple and cream-colored fur was coming down the ladder. Once it reached the floor, it turned to reveal a skuntank. He walked forward until he was right in front of Yajuu, glaring at him menacingly. A glare Yajuu returned with equal fervor.

"Move! Out of the way!" After saying that, he released a gas cloud producing foul-smelling odor in Yajuu's general direction. _'By the Legendaries, I feel like I am going to throw up'_ Yajuu thought as he covered the lower half of his face with his left arm, while his right arm fell to the floor to help support his weight when he fell to his knees, doubling over from how nauseous the odor was making him.

"Oh, Yajuu!" Luna screamed, seeing her best friend suddenly fall from his knees to lying on the ground entirely, unresponsive to the world as he passed out from sensory overload. "Ugh! This stench…what is this!" Luna cried as the stink cloud started to disperse, spreading its foul odors around, rendering the other occupants of the room immobile form the shock of the sudden stench, despite its diluted state.

"It smells like rotten cheese!" Sunflora yelled.

"That is foul, yes sirree!" Bidoof cried.

"Hey, hey! My eyes are burning" Corphish complained. Skuntank walked up to Luna, glaring at her, causing Luna to take a step back in fear.

"Move it! Or do you want to end up like that wimp over there!?" He growled out, his eyes taking a dangerous gleam. Luna was quick to step out of the way, nearly tripping over her own feet due to how fast she was scrambling away.

"Chief!" Koffing cried in happiness.

"You sure showed them, Chief! You're the best!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Skuntank said, rolling his eyes at his subordinates. "So, you two, did you sniff out any jobs that'll bring in the cash?"

"The Job Bulletin Board only posted cheap tasks, but…" Koffing started, only for Zubat to continue.

"There's something else, Chief. It's got the potential to go big…" Zubat flew over to his boss before whispering in his ear.

"What? An expedition from this guild?" Skuntank asked, before a smirk started to spread across his face. "That does sound tasty."

"Doesn't it?" Koffing asked.

"Let's get out of here. We need to do some plotting. Come one, we're going."

"Yeah!" Zubat and Koffing called out as one. Skuntank climbed back up the ladder and his two henchmen made to follow, but when they passed Luna and the still out cold Yajuu, they paused to look at them and the rest of the room.

"What are you all staring at?" Koffing said with a cruel smirk on his face. "This isn't a public performance!" Everyone besides Luna was quick to look away. Zubat, noticing this, turned to look at her while Koffing made his way up the ladder.

"Heh-heh, see you around, wimps." With that last passing remark, he too went up the ladder with the rest of his team. After Team Skull disappeared from sight Luna quickly went Yajuu's side.

"Yajuu! Are you alright, Yajuu!?" she cried while shaking his still form. After a moment or two, Yajuu started to stir before suddenly sitting up, startling Luna. Seeing him awake again, she quickly got under his arm to help him stand up once more. "Great! It doesn't look like you're hurt anywhere."

"I'm…fine, for the most part. Have a bit of a headache now, though." Yajuu finally stood up with Luna's help, before looking to her and seeing a gloomy expression on her face.

"Haah, that sure was rough, though." She shook her head, her expression turning dourer. "I couldn't work up the courage to challenge him to his face! Even though he knocked you out, Yajuu…I'm so disappointed in myself…" Luna turned to look at Yajuu, though her eyes did not meet his. "They're right…I am a wimp…A big chicken."

"You're not a wimp" Yajuu said.

"Thanks for trying to cheer me up, Yajuu…" Tears started to gather in Luna's eyes at this point. "But I really am a wimp…"

"And?" Yajuu asked, getting a shocked and somewhat hurt look from Luna. "So what if you scare easily? So what if you are timid? The first time you and I ever fought together was when they took your Relic Fragment. You may have frozen up, but you still joined the fight in the end. Every time we have fought a pokémon going through the mystery dungeons, you fought by my side, never running away even once. You may have been scared in every fight we have been in, but you are the most courageous person I have ever met." Yajuu finished, drawing a shocked look from Luna once more, this time tinged with euphoria, tears coming to her eyes once more.

"But…you are so much more courageous than me. You stare everything down with a fearless determination…" she started to trail off when she saw a fond look in her partner's eyes.

"That is not courage. Some would even say that fearlessness is synonymous with foolishness. No, courage is the ability to act despite one's fears, not be absent of them. You were willing to act to save Azurill despite the fear you felt when it came to fighting Drowzee. You might be scared of a lot of things, but that only makes you that much more courageous in my mind." Yajuu finished with a smile, small as it was.

"You know," Luna started with a watery giggle "That might be the most I have ever heard you speak in one go." Yajuu froze at that, before he started to chuckle as well, realizing she was right.

"Well, that is one way to kill the mood," he told her, which only served to further her giggles. Yajuu lifted his had to wipe her tears away with a single finger, Luna leaning in to his touch.

"I may be a wimp," Luna started off, "But I've decided that I can still do my best, even if I may freeze up every now and then. I won't let something like this break me." Luna finally started to act like her normal, cheerful self as a huge grin spread across her face. "I'm going to be cheerful and keep trying. Thank you, Yajuu! For now, we'd better keep working like we've been doing. What should we do today?" Luna asked, looking to her leader. Yajuu looked between the two boards before pointing to the Job Bulletin Board with a shrug. "Right, let's see what options we got!" Luna called out with a cheer. The two pokémon walked up to the board, looking at the jobs available. Yajuu, after looking for a second, pulled four jobs down, each one listed under the Waterfall Cave location. "We going to do all four of those?" Luna asked.

"They are all for the same location, so why not?"

"Well, what are they, then?"

"Let's see…One is to find a Reviver Seed fifth floor, one is to find a missing psyduck on the sixth, one is to rescue a nidorina seventh floor, and the final one is to escort a chingling to a wiscash on the eighth floor. Seems we can do them easily enough, they are even in order, just got to make sure we stock up properly."

"Alright, so it is off to the bank, store, and storage, then?" Luna asked, earning a nod from Yajuu. "Okay, let's go!" she yelled out with a childish glee. The two pokemon climbed up the ladder to the entrance to the guild, before starting down the steps. As they reached the bottom, they spotted a wynaut and a wobbuffet, both wearing what looked to be lipstick.

"Oh! A new customer, is it not?" The wynaut spoke as she and the wobbuffet walked over to them."Good day, is it not? The new shop, Spinda's Café, is now open! This wonderful shop is overflowing with hopes and dreams, is it not?"

"Hopes and dreams?" Luna asked.

"That's right!" the wobuffett shouted with a salute. The two started to walk to a hole in the ground with a staircase. The wynaut turned to Team Shadow, waving an arm.

"Hey! Why not come on in? Don't be shy!" she yelled

"I don't know what this place is. Want to find out?" Luna turned to Yajuu, curiosity dancing in her eyes. The treecko simply shrugged. Luna, knowing he didn't care, nodded her head to the wynaut.

"We have two guests!" she called out joyously. Luna started to walk to the hole, Yajuu not far behind her. Roughly ten or so steps down and they entered a room with tables and two counters with shelves full of assorted items behind them at the far end of the room.

"Whoa! This place is pretty big!" Luna called out in surprise. A spinda that was spinning in between the two counters noticed Yajuu and Luna standing at the entrance and made her way over to the pokemon, swaying side to side as she did so.

"Hello and welcome to Spinda's Café! I am the owner and manager of this establishment, Spinda! And I see you have met my employees Wynaut and Wobuffett! I made this café for explorers who enjoy finding new things every day and who are constantly challenging themselves."

"A café for explorers?" Luna asked, while Yajuu looked at Spinda with a confused expression.

"That's right." Spinda said, clapping her hands together. "It is natural to want to refresh yourself with a hearty, delicious drink after exploring…" she explained to the two. "So we are delighted to provide this service to explorers, and we trust it will bring them much happiness. Today is our grand opening! Allow me to show you around the premises." She brought the two pokémon to the counter on the right, which held various cups and what looked to be juicers. "This is the Juice Bar. You've undoubtedly collected Gummis and Apples during your explorations, am I right?" Seeing the two nod, she continued. "Here, those edibles can become delicious drink sensations. I, Spinda, will take your ingredient and use my incredible skills to create a delicious drink for you."

"Really? So if we brought you, say, an Apple, you'd make some Apple Juice, is that what you are saying?" Luna asked, a smile on her face.

"That's right! That is exactly right. That's how it works. While you're enjoying a nutritious drink, you can sit back and share exploration stories." She started to walk over to the other counter, "Here is the next facility. This is the centerpiece of our place, the Recycle Shop. You must have a lot of items that you have picked in your travels that you don't need or use, am I right?" Once more, seeing their nods, she continued, "Sometimes you have to throw out your extra items to make room…" Spinda threw her head back and her hands in the air, "Doesn't that seem wasteful? There could be explorers in dungeons out there who would be in desperate need of the very things you have locked in storage." Spinda stood upright once more, lowering her arms. "That is what we thought too. That's why we established this facility. You can bring any extra items or don't want or need here and trade them for items you do want or need. How does that sound? One pokémon's trash is another pokémon's treasure, am I right?" Noticing their contemplative face, she continued, her voice gaining more and more enthusiasm the longer she talked. "I thought it would be fun for explorers to gather and trade items with one another. You'll never have to throw out another item. You'll never have to say, 'What a waste!' again! That's my goal, so, if you've got a collection of items you don't need, please make use of our Recycle Shop. You can even get a bonus Prize Ticket when recycling items. It's a lot of fun. I know that was a whirlwind tour, but I hope you've got an idea of what kind of place this is." Spinda said, finishing of her explanation.

"Wow. Seems like a pretty cool shop." Luna said, a grin on her face.

"Thank you very much!" Spinda said, pride evident in her voice. "It is my goal to have a café of hopes and dreams, where many explorers can gather. I hope to see you again soon here at Spinda's Café." Yajuu and Luna said their goodbyes as they headed back up the stairs.

"Luna, you go and get Chingling for the escort mission and I'll go gather the supplies. Stopping here wasted a bit of time for the missions, and I want to get them over with as soon as we can." Luna nodded and handed Yajuu her satchel so he can go fill it up and ran out to get the sentient bell. "Meet me at the cave entrance!" Yajuu yelled after her. After hearing her confirmation, he left the café to get anything the might need for the mystery dungeon.

* * *

Yajuu had been sitting hunched over on a rock with his eyes closed, a small stick he found sticking out of his mouth **(1)** , waiting for his partner to arrive the client for the escort mission, for little over five minutes when he heard Luna call out his name. Opening his eyes and turning to the direction her voice came from, he saw her and a chingling, who he assumed to be Chingling, the client for the harder of the four missions.

"Hey Yajuu, I see you got here ahead of us," Luna stated, looking at him with a smile on her face. Yajuu nodded his head,taking the stick out of his mouth and placing it in his bag, before turning to the chingling.

"Hello, I am Yajuu, the leader of Team Shadow." He said, holding his hand out.

"Hello Mr. Yajuu. I thank you for taking this mission, I really need to get to my friend down there, but I am not strong enough to go on my own." Chingling said, shaking his hand.

"Think nothing of it. However, we have other missions to achieve before we reach the eighth level, so please understand that even if we find the stairs to move on, we might have to stay to complete our other missions." Yajuu warned the small pokémon.

"Don't worry, your partner already explained everything to me. I am just thankful that you are taking my mission as well, despite all the other jobs you are doing." Yajuu nodded at him before turning to Luna, handing the eevee her satchel to slip over her neck.

"Well, shall we go?" Luna asked, looking to Yajuu. He nodded once before walking into the cave first.

"Alright, Luna, stay extra alert, as we have someone we must protect as well as the basic fighting." Luna nodded her head, following after him with Luna taking up the rear. Barely ten steps were taken before they came across a poliwag, who was quick to attack them. Yajuu quickly spun so his tail would hit the charging water type, knocking it back in a daze. Quick to take advantage of the situation, Luna ran into it with a Tackle, taking it out in one hit due to the Power Band around her neck. Chingling watched with awe at how quick they were to defeat their opponent. They reached the next room without incident where they found a Clear Gummi, and the stairs leading to the next level. "We found it already?" Yajuu muttered under his breath, satisfied they would get the mission done quicker.

"Ooh, we can take this Gummi to the café when we are done!" Luna exclaimed, excited to try a drink made by Spinda.

"We'll have to do just that, but for now, let's head to the next floor," Yajuu said, a chuckle escaping his throat. The walked down the steps to find a room with a hallway connected to each wall. "Hm, I say we head…Left." Yajuu said, pointing in said direction. The other two saw no reason not to go along with this and agreed. After walking down the path for a while they came across a splitting path, one to the left, and one to the right. Before a decision could be made on which direction to go, a tangela appeared and used hypnosis on Yajuu, putting him to sleep instantly. The tangela was able to get in one quick hit before Luna leaped over her partner to pounce in it. Luna and the tangela wrestled for supremacy, with Luna biting down on his tentacles as it tried to throw her off. Yajuu, luckily, woke up from the hit and was able catch her when the tangela finally succeeded in removing her from its face, tough not without getting injured. Yajuu, noticing it was preparing to use hypnosis again, quickly used quick attack in hopes it would be enough to finish it off. Yajuu slammed him body into the mess of blue tentacles, but the tangela held strong, choosing to defend itself at the cost of being unable to force one of the pokémon into sleep. Luna pounced on it once again, however, and in its weakened state, the tangela was deafeated.

"What was that about staying alert?" Luna asked, happy she could finally get back at Yajuu for teasing her this morning. Yajuu said nothing, but the blush on his cheeks showed his embarrassment about the situation. He quickly started to walk forward, trying not to react to her teasing, which only served to get her giggling.

"You two sure are close, huh?" Chingling asked as they took a right leading into a small room with an opening straight across.

"Well, yeah. I mean, we are each other's best friend. Well, I say that, but we are kind of each other's only friend." She explained as they started through the path.

"Surely you must know more people than just each other?" Chingling asked. "Aren't you members of a Wigglytuff's Guild?"

"Well, yeah, we are. But Yajuu gets uncomfortable talking around others, and while I may be willing to talk to others, I spend pretty much all my time with Yajuu. I didn't have any friends before him, and Yajuu can't remember a day before he met me, so…" Luna trailed off their, not knowing how to continue. Luckily a distraction came in the form of a wooper standing next to the stairs. Yajuu, not wanting to waste any time, used absorb to deal with it in one shot, healing the slight damage he got for the tangela in the process. They quickly descended down to the third floor, where they stood in a large room with the stairs already there.

"That…makes things easier." Yajuu said, looking at the stairs. Luna nodded with a giggle, before she started to head down the stairs, Yajuu and Chingling following behind her. On the fourth level, they were in a small room with paths leading north and south. Yajuu looked between the two before heading south, the other two following close behind. This time, the stairs took longer to find, with the three of them having gone through every room before they found the stairs. Along the way, they ran into a surskit, lotad, psyduck, and grimer, with the last one poisoning Yajuu badly enough he had to eat both a pecha and an oran berry, or risk fainting. Once they descended the steps, Yajuu took out the sheet of paper that had the mission for this floor. "Okay, so we have to find a Reviver Seed before we can move on to the next floor, keep your eyes peeled." He ordered getting a nod from Luna and Chingling, despite the latter having no obligation to help. They started walking to the north, following a long pathway, that splintered into two paths, one going forward, and the other going west. The group quickly decided to go forward when they saw a grimer down the westward path, none of them wanting to get poisoned like Yajuu was not minutes ago. The north path led to a room with the option to go east or west. Quickly deciding to go west, the trio ran down the pathway, only to run into another tangela. Wary of the possibility of it knowing hypnosis, Yajuu used Quick Attack to stun it long enough got Luna to finish it off with a Tackle.

"How are you holding up there, Yajuu?" Luna panted put, looking tiredly to Yajuu.

"Tired and hungry," was his short answer. He then proceeded to pull an apple out of his satchel and eat it, before looking at Luna. "Now I'm just tired." Luna rolled her eyes at his antics, hitting the back of his head with her tail. "You where the one who asked me, I merely responded," said, a teasing glint appearing in his eyes.

"You know what I meant, you jerk," she said, hitting him with her tail once more. "Let's find that seed so we can move on to the next floor." She started to walk ahead as she said that, reaching a room with a staircase and a seed. "Hey, Yajuu! Is that the Reviver Seed?" She said asked.

"It looks like it. That is one mission done, three more to go." Yajuu had a smirk on his face as he picked up the Reviver Seed and placed it in his bag. They descended to the next floor, where he took out another sheet of paper. "Okay, on this floor, we have to look for a psyduck." Luna tapped his shoulder, prompting him to look at her with a questioning glance. Seeing she had his attention, she pointed to a psyduck walking over to them in an aggressive stance. "…not what I meant, but okay." Yajuu threw a Sleep Seed, knocking the duck unconscious. He and Luna then started to dish out basic attacks to defeat it before it woke up, a tactic which luckily worked. The room they were in had four paths, one in heach direction.

"Let's head east time," Luna suggested. The other two nodded, seeing no reason not to. They started their way down the path, reaching a new room fairly quickly. However, something was different about this room…

"Welcome!" the purple kecleon brother said, standing on a carpeted floor, with various items on display. Yajuu and Luna looked on in an incredulous manner, wondering why Kecleon would open shop in a mystery dungeon. "Ah, confused, I see. My brother and I came up with this idea fairly recently. One of us will occasionally go to a mystery dungeon we know that explorations teams are going to, in order to sell any goods that they might need. Maybe they ran out of a certain item, or maybe they just want to sell some things they picked up for a little extra spending money, hm? So, do you have a need of anything at the moment, or will you be passing on through?" Kecleon asked.

"I…think we are good? Luna, you need anything?" Yajuu asked, get a shake of her head in response. "Chingling?" Same answer from him as well. "Yeah, we're good for now. I wish you luck in your sales, I guess." Yajuu said, as he and the others started to walk north, entering the corridor behind Kecleon.

"That was…an interesting idea." Luna said as soon as they were out of earshot.

"Whatever works for them." Yajuu said with a shrug. "If their idea pans out, then I ain't gonna complain." Luna nodded her head hesitantly, conceding the point, but still uncertain over their safety. They reached the room with the stairs leading down, the only path being to the right. Ignoring the stairs for now, they went down the path, coming to a room with a poliwag in it. Luna, taking the initiative, rushed towards it, using Tackle to take it out in one hit. The poliwag, barely holding on form Luna's attack, quickly fell when Yajuu rushed in to finish it off. The three quickly ran into the next room, only to finally see the psyduck they were supposed to find. Luna quickly went up to him, a friendly smile in her face.

"Hello. We are Team Shadow, the exploration team. We are here to get you out."

"Th-thank you. I w-wasn't able to get out on my own." The psyduck thanked them profusely. Yajuu walked up to them, his exploration team badge shining brightly in his hand. He pointed it towards the psyduck, as a gold light came from nowhere, magically transporting him out of the mystery dungeon.

"Now that that is done, back to the stairs," Yajuu said, clipping his badge back onto his pouch. They turned around, only to see another psyduck, looking ready for a fight. Yajuu, wanting to get this over with, shot off a quick absorb, the attack brought the psyduck to its knees with ease.

"You…you are strong," the psyduck said, tilting his head up to look towards Yajuu, eyes filled with respect. "Can you teach me to be strong?" Yajuu paused, surprise clear on his face. A few seconds later, he grabbed Luna and pulled her head close to his.

"What do you think we should do?" Yajuu asked, confusion littering his voice.

"Hey, don't look at me, you're the leader here." Luna responded, startled.

"Yes, but you are also the other member of this team and, if we end up with more people, my second-in-command. So, do we let him join the team, or do we turn him away?"

"I…maybe? It would be a good idea to have more members on the team, especially with the expedition coming up…" Luna trailed off, unsure of her own answer.

"Hm, your right. Plus, psyduck do learn a couple of psychic type moves, which would be useful against Team Skull, considering they are all poison-types." Yajuu moved his head away from Luna's, turning to look at the psyduck patiently waiting for a response. "You can join our exploration team, however, you must follow mine or, if I am not available, Luna's orders, understood?" Seeing him nod, Yajuu let a smirk appear on his face. "Well then, I welcome you to Team Shadow. I am Yajuu, and thus is Luna."

"Nice to have you aboard," the fox said, flashing a happy grin. "As he said, I am Luna, I am the second-in-command and spokesperson for our team."

"My name is Jorden."

"Well Jorden, we have a couple missions left to do here before we can head back to the guild to register you to our team, is that okay?" Luna asked.

"That is fine."

"Great!" Luna pumped her paw with a smile. "Now we just got to head back to the stairs and get to the next mission!" Everyone nodded, running to the stairs, thankfully not having to fight anymore pokémon along the way. "Hey, Yajuu, what was the mission for this floor?"

"Rescuing the nidorina. We are heading to the right."

"Okay!" Luna said.

"You are…excitable," Jorden said, looking to Luna.

"Ah, yeah, kinda. Yajuu has said the same thing about me a few times before," Luna said with a giggle, as they walked through an empty room, continuing straight to the passage at the other end.

"I see. You two are close, then?"

"Yep, we are best friends."

"Luna, we found the nidorina, you're up." Yajuu said, walking over to her. Luna nodded and started to walk over to the poison-type, a gentle smile on her face. Yajuu was right behind her, unclipping his badge for his satchel.

"Hello, are you the nidorina who sent out word for rescue?" Luna asked, her voice soft and soothing. The nidorina nodded shakily, looking fairly frightened. "We are Team Shadow, an exploration team here to rescue you, okay?"

"…o-okay," she said, her voice so quite it was barely heard. Yajuu moved forward until he was standing right next to Luna, his badge shining brightly. The nidorina seemed startled by this, if her taking a small step back was any indication.

"Don't worry, this is what we are going to use to teleport you out of here. It will transport you near the guild just outside of town."

"P-promise?"

"I promise." Luna said, lifting her paw in a little salute, drawing a shaky giggle from the young nidorina. "Now, a bright light will shine down in a second, don't worry, it won't hurt you, you will only feel tingly for a second before being taken out, understand?" Luna asked, getting a slightly less timid nod. Luna nodded to Yajuu, who took it as his cue to activate the teleportation function of his badge. The nidorina was bathed in a bright gold light before disappearing.

"Okay, we can finally get you to your friend, Chingling." Yajuu said, clipping his badge back onto the satchel.

"Thank you. I can't wait to be reunited with my friend." Chinling said, a smile appearing on his face. The group of four walked southward, reaching the next room, only to pause.

"That…was easier than I thought." Jorden said, looking to the stairs.

"Well, that is a mystery dungeon for you." Luna said. "Just makes our job easier. Let's head down." The four walked down the steps, finally reaching the lowest level of the mystery dungeon. The room they entered only had a single passage leading north, where they could hear the sound of someone calling for help.

"That voice, it is Wiscash, I know it. We have to hurry." Chingling yelled, already running ahead. The two founders and new recruit for Team Shadow stood in shock for a second before quickly chasing after the living bell. Running to the room where they heard the yelling, they say Wiscash being chased by a tangela **(2)**. Yajuu was the first to act, firing off an absorb to both drain the tangela's energy and get its attention, a plan which succeeded. Luna, ran at the tangela as it was turning to face Yajuu, slamming into it with a tackle. Yajuu used his tail to slam it with a pound to finish it off. "Wiscash! Are you okay!?"

"Chingling! What are you doing here?"

"I came with an exploration team to come and get you. I'm so glad you're okay. Can we get out of here now?" Chingling said you Wiscash before directing that last sentence to Yajuu, who already had his badge in hand.

"We ready to go?" Yajuu asked, looking to everyone. Seeing everyone was in agreement, he activated the teleportation function, transporting them all to the guild.

* * *

"Ah, finally out of the cave. The water was weighing down my fur." Luna exclaimed, joy in her voice.

"Yes, I am sure we are all happy to be out of there, but we still have work to do. Luna, you go with Chingling and Wiscash, deliver the Reviver Seed, collect the rewards for the missions, and mark them as complete. Jorden, you come with me. We are going to officially register you as part of our team."

"You got it boss," Luna said, slapping a paw to her forehead in salute before walking off to deliver, Chingling and Wiscash in tow. Yajuu started down the ladder with Jorden not far behind. They calmly walked over to Chimecho, who was floating behind a desk.

"Ah, Yajuu, what brings you here?" Chimecho asked the green gecko. "And who is that behind you?"

"The person behind me is why I am here. This is Jorden, and he wants to be a part of Team Shadow. Just want to get him registered." Yajuu explained, putting an arm on the desk.

"Great! It is about time you got a new member for your exploration team. Well, Jorden, if you would come over here, we need you put down your information, then we can make you an official member of their team." Yajuu stepped back so that Jorden can walk up to the table. The whole process took little more than five minutes, and like that, everything was made official. "Well, everything seems to be in order. Here, this is you explorer badge and a satchel to carry anything you need with you on your expeditions and missions. Ah, that reminds me, Yajuu, you know that new café that opened recently?" Seeing his nod, she continued, "Well, recently, members of other exploration teams started to relax there whenever the rest of their team was off on a mission, so now that there are more than two of you, I was thinking your exploration team might want to rest there whenever they are not with you on a mission, what do you think?"

"Seems like a good idea to me, I will let Luna know when she comes back."

"Wonderful! I hope you have a pleasant day." Yajuu only nodded in response.

"I think I might go check out that café you guys were talking about, where is it?" Jorden asked, turning to Yajuu.

"Just south of here, you will see a sign with a hole next to it, that is the café, just walk down the steps and you are there." Jorden gave his thanks before waddling off, leaving Yajuu alone. He walked back out of the guild before walking to the tree on the west side of the entrance. Scaling the tree with ease, he sat on a branch, breaking off a twig from the tree, which he held in his mouth. Leaning against the trunk of the tree, he closed his eyes and put his hands behind his head, feeling the warm beams of the sun filtering through the leaves.

* * *

"YAJUUUUU~!" It was an hour or so later when he opened his eyes, hearing Luna calling his name from the bottom of the tree. Jumping down, he landed in a crouch before standing to his full height, looking to his partner. "Took you long enough, you missed dinner." Luna said with a huff. "Chatot let me take some berries to our room so you won't go hungry"

"I see. I suppose I should thank you, then." Yajuu said, as his stomach growled. "And it appears my stomach agrees," he said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, c'mon you lazy bones, the berries won't eat themselves," she said, giggling all the while. The two started towards their shared room, as serene silence surrounding the two as they simply enjoyed the others company. Once they reached their room, Yajuu was quick to devour his meal, finishing it in little over a minute. "You know, you could at least _pretend_ to be civilized." Luna teased.

"If being civilized means it takes longer for the food to enter my stomach, then I would rather not." Yajuu responded in a mock seriousness tone. They looked at each other before bursting into laughter. Yajuu walked over to his bed, leaning back on it, rolling the twig in his mouth.

"…Hey, Yajuu?" Luna started. "You think we are going to have trouble with Team Skull? I mean, you did mention it was one of the reasons you agreed with Jorden joining the team."

"I know we will. They said it themselves. They are an exploration team who don't go by the books. Combined that with their thieving ways, and they are practically corrupt police. People like that are sure to cause trouble, especially since our actions against Zubat and Koffing put us in their crosshairs."

"I…see. Well, then we will just have to get so strong, that they will be unable to do anything to us. And then we can expose them for the crooks they are!" Luna exclaimed, pumping her paw into the air. Yajuu smirked, nodding his head in agreement. He took the twig out of his mouth, which he put on top of his bag, along with his silver ribbon. Luna did the same with her own bag and her power band. Luna let out a cute yawn before shuffling to her bed and lying down. "G'night, Yajuu." Luna fell asleep mere seconds after.

"Good night, Luna." Yajuu responded in kind, despite the fact that she would not hear him. Yajuu spent the next few hours, just lying on his bed, trying to remember something, _anything_ , about his past. Despite all his efforts, his past remained a dark void of nothingness, will only the knowledge that he was once human remaining. Finally giving up, he turned in for the night, hoping to get at least a few hours of sleep before he had to get up in the morning and try to stay awake during the day.

* * *

 **Character Profiles**

 **Jorden: Jorden is a psyduck Luna and Yajuu found in in Waterfall Cave. Jorden is someone who is awed by and respects strength, so when Yajuu defeated him in one move, he desired to follow him in the order to be able to become strong himself. Jorden is someone who is quick to fight, but can be calm among those he considers friends. While not as friendly or outspoken as Luna, he is still far better than Yajuu. His respect for Yajuu's strength allows him to accept his status as leader of Team Shadow, however, while he has seen Luna fight, he is unsure of her worthiness as Yajuu's second-in-command.**

* * *

 **(1): A reference to Ash's treecko/grovyle/sceptile from the anime**

 **(2): The tangela was actually walking behind the wiscash before I attacked it in the game, so this scene came to mind**

* * *

 **And like that, another chapter complete. I am pretty sure I am going to make next chapter one dedicated to Luna and Yajuu spending time doing stuff outside of missions, taking place over a few days, not sure yet. I will make reference to them doing missions at different points, since they are still working to be able to go on the expedition, but I will probably not write any of it, because I swear writing missions this chapter was hell.**


End file.
